Tower of Avarice: A LitRPG story

Mathew and Alivia trudged through a swamp, each of their steps caused them to sink slightly into the sponge-like earth. Their powers had finally returned and both felt as if energy pulsed beneath their skin.

The would around them shimmered slightly from Aether and there were flickers of light in the distance in a multitude of colours that would erupt as the strange magic in the air collided.

The swamp here was nothing like the mundane marsh from either of their home worlds. It was lush, but completely alien. It was like something out of a dream. The trees towered above them, their trunks twisted and knotted in impossible spirals and knots. Their bark shined purple and bronze in the daylight and many would drip wet, golden sap that hung from their trunks like jewels.

Thick blue mist curled around everything, dense enough to limit their vision beyond a few hundred feet. It hung in the air and swirled in slow eddies that drifted with the wind. It saturated the atmosphere to the point that breathing it would choke an ordinary human, flooding their lungs with so much Aether that they would perish.

But Mathew and Alivia inhaled it eagerly, their reawakened ability drawing it in and converting it into raw energy, while a portion was added to their inventory to be used in the Shop or to enhance their Blessings and Disciplines.

The scent of Aether was sharp and spicy, almost electric like cinnamon and ozone. It coated their throats and tongues, leaving a faint burning sensation. It was so thick that it was even in the water and land, with their footsteps leaving shimmering puddles that rippled with colours in their wake.

The pair were here with a purpose and they moved cautiously through the thick growth. The swamp was full of creatures grown to monstrous size and they did not appreciate any intrusion into their domain. It was a common side effect of some much Aether concentrated in a single place.

If it were safe to be here, neither of them would have been summoned by the Tower to investigate.

Somewhere in this swamp was a creature that had been absorbing Aether for untold years. It was something that so old and half-forgotten that the few humans they had spoken to on the outskirts of the swamp prior to entering didn't know much about it aside from a few legends.

From the Floor description, they knew that it had once been a simple animal that had grown into an apex predator by consuming Aether. But they didn't know what it looked like. The villagers had said it was a shifting thing made of flesh and smoke, but Mathew hadn't put much faith in their description.

And now, after so long living in this Aether, it was evolving into a demigod.

Aether, in the right conditions and in high concentrations, could elevate a being beyond mortality. It can reshape the body and strengthen the soul.

But in rare cases, it twisted and corrupted the being into a monster during the process, which is why Mathew and Alivia had been assigned to kill it before it could ascend too far and become unstoppable.

Aliva walked a few paces behind Mathew, her boots sloshing through the thick swamp water without care to keep them dry. She walked like each step was a burden to her. Her shoulders were hunched and the confidence high spirits that Mathew was familiar with was nowhere to be seen.

She had been withdrawn and sullen since Greg's death. She barely spoke anymore, and when she did, it came out in short responses that lacked any emotion. Alivia had bags under her eyes and she looked exhausted. Mathew knew she wasn't sleeping.

At night, when they stopped to rest, Mathew noticed that she wouldn't sleep. She would just sit with her arms wrapped around her knees, staring at the darkness.

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Mathew knew that the two had been close; it was obvious to anyone who spent time with them. He wasn't stupid, and it wasn't as if he didn't feel his own grief at the loss of both Rehn and Greg, two people he had known for countless years.

But it was getting to the point where she needed to deal with it, or she wouldn't survive. They weren't in some Lower Floor where they were fighting a few undead. This was a creature that was on the verge of becoming a demigod, and he needed a partner, not a liability.

It was cold and cruel, and he hated himself for thinking about her grief like that, but he didn't have a choice. Not anymore.

They reached a patch of higher ground that was a boulder surrounded by thick roots from a tree. It was dry, and the Aether mist thinned just enough to see the shapes of the trees around them. It still had that spicy tang, but the air was cleaner here and made it easier to breath.

Mathew stopped walking and turned to look at Alivia, who hadn't noticed he had halted.

"Alivia." Mathew said, his tone flat but clear. She didn't answer, and she moved past him before he repeated his call.

"Alivia." This time he tone was a lot sharper, and it finally made her pause. She turned her head slowly to look at him, and he thought she looked older somehow. It was ridiculous, no one in the Tower aged. It was the opposite, they grew younger as they leveled up and consumed Aether until they reached their peak.

But the young woman looked as if she had aged years in only a few days.

"I know you're hurting. I know that you miss Greg, but this isn't helping. You're slipping; you're not here. It's going to get you killed."

Alivia's jaw tightened at Mathew's words, and she shook her head.

"I am here." She muttered, her voice barely audible. She crossed her arms and her eyes didn't meet his. The silence stretched between them as Mathew waited for her to respond.

"What do you want me to say, Mathew? That I'm broken? That I can't focus and that I wish it was me who died instead of him!?" She yelled before clamping her mouth shut and spinning away. He could hear her cry, so he turned away to give her a moment.

"He would have hated this place." Mathew commented. It was hot and humid, without much of a breeze, and he could imagine Greg complaining about it. For someone who liked to hunt, he didn't enjoy the heat or humidity.

"Yeah, he would've complained the whole way." Aliva replied as she dried her eyes with her sleeve. The silence settled between them again, but it was comforting rather than awkward.

"I'm not going with you." She said quietly. Mathew blinked in surprise, caught off guard.

"What?"

"I'm going to stay here, on this Floor, for awhile. Once we kill this thing we're hunting, I'm going to check out the villages. I need time." Her voice was calm and steady, with no sign of the exhaustion that was on her face.

"I understand." Mathew stated, and this time, it was Alivia's turn to be surprised.

"Really? I thought you would try to talk me out of it."

"No, I wouldn't do that. It's your decision, and I respect that. There's been times that I've felt like stopping as well, but…" Mathew's voice trailed off, and his face hardened.

"You'll find her." Alivia reassured him. Mathew didn't reply; he just nodded to her and resumed walking.

It would take them another two days to find the creature. The air around them grew still, and the sounds of the swamp were silenced as the monster emerged from the blue Aether-mist. It was a towering monstrosity whose body flickered between bestial and divine as it was still in the process of ascending beyond its mortality.

It had translucent skin that shimmered brightly, and its veins glowed blue with Aether. Antlers arced from its head, etched with runes, and its eyes glowed a bright, unnatural blue.

Mathew moved first as mana flared through his limbs as he surged forward, the Godslaying Blade of Wrath in his hands and blazing with white-blue flames. He slashed at the monster, sending out a shockwave of light and energy that blasted the ground open between them.

But this creature was nearly a demigod, and it responded by surrounding itself with blue flames that burned everything in its path. Mathew barely had time to erect a barrier of mana around himself before he was consumed.

Luckily, Aliva was ready with a card in her hand. She flicked it into the air and called out the word to activate it.

"Burst!" The card disintegrated into motes of gold energy before coalescing into a scorching beam that struck the monster in its chest. Reeling back, it didn't have time to dodge as Aliva hurled another card that exploded into a lightning bolt that sizzled with arcane energy.

Between the pair, they launched themselves at the monster again and again, slowly wearing it down. When the battle ended, and the notification for the Floor's completion rang out, they were bloody and exhausted but victorious.

Standing in front of the glowing elevator, Mathew turned back to look behind him. Alivia stood at the edge of the swamp, framed by the twisting trees and the fading light of the sun.

Mathew gave her a small nod, and she returned it with one of her own. There weren't any words said, no long goodbyes.

Then he turned and walked into the elevator. When the doors closed, Aliva was left alone in silence.